Cisco in TMB recruitment push

DTI-backed initiative claimed as 'stamp of credibility' for Vars in SME arena

Cisco resellers could get the differentiator they are looking for by joining the vendor's first recruitment push for the UK government-backed Technology Means Business (TMB) scheme.

Cisco announced it was joining the programme last year and is believed to be looking to recruit partners to the scheme, which aims to give an independent accreditation to Vars that target the SME sector.

Dave Kelly, SME manager at Cisco, said: "TMB is closely aligned to our SME strategy and raises the profile of our SME partners. It will give them more credentials to target this market."

Paul Cunningham, director at Cisco distributor Comstor, said he understood that Cisco intends to run the TMB initiative alongside its SME Connect partner programme.

"Some people might be cynical about this, but when you see the vendors involved, you see the value." Existing vendors in the scheme include BT, Intel, Microsoft, and Hewlett Packard.

Reseller Tailor Made Solutions is on the verge of completing its accreditation. Although it sells Cisco kit, the Var decided to join the TMB scheme of its own accord.

Ian Lockwood, marketing manager at the firm, said it would raise the profile of the company as it was a "stamp of credibility".

He said: "There are a lot of cowboys around and generally firms don't understand what they are getting with IT. This gives SMEs a warm, fluffy feeling in that they know they can trust us. It's reassurance for them."

Joanna Douglas, TMB agency manager at the Chartered Management Institute, which runs the scheme, backed by the Department of Trade and Industry, said: "Our research shows resellers are one of the largest sources of advice on IT, so we are targeting them.

"In turn this gives the resellers value add and helps them develop strong customer relationships."